Stories of Eden
by Lionpawheart
Summary: Fairy tales of artifacts, a massacre, and the farmer that liked cows all in Eden's telling, Adel's training and a naive bounty hunter with a failed hostage situation. Collection of drabbles and fillers that directly relate to Irony of Eden.
1. Proposal

**A/N**- To those who are confused, this is a drabble story that has direct relation to my other work, Irony of Eden. I collected a few drabbles and side-stories that I cut out of the original so that they wouldn't stall the plot. I'll be posting them here, as well as filling in the ten-year gap between the Battle of Forli and Bonfires of the Vanities. The pairing is EzioxEden for the most part, though there shall be a few... detachments, perhaps. On another note, the chapters will likely be out of order, though I'll try to keep them organized.

To those that haven't read the original story, there was a part in which Eden claims that she'll marry the first man who gets her breakfast in bed instead of a fancy dinner and daffodils of sunflowers instead of roses. Ezio took that quite literally...

**The Proposal**

**_The day before Eden leaves for Milan on Mario's call._**

I woke up with the most euphoric feeling in my head, and the warm morning sun warming my hip. I sighed in content, burying into the sheets to hold on to my dream a while longer.

Then I remembered with a tiny laugh that it wasn't a dream I was so happy about.

"Good morning," I purred happily as I heard him enter through the door. Once he realized I wasn't sleeping any longer, Ezio stopped sneaking, and grinned brightly at me in hello. He came closer to the bed, sitting down beside me. The smell of bacon and eggs hit my nose deliciously, and I rose up from the bed, feeling even better than before. "What this?"

"Thought you'd like some breakfast," he shrugged, lightly handing me the tray. The small vase and the sunny daffodils in it barely even flinched in the process.

"Breakfast in bed and daffodils?" I laughed, starting at the food. "Careful, Ezio, a little more and I'd think you're proposing!"

He watched me eat for a few moments with a strange look in his eyes, until I started getting slightly uncomfortable. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What if I am?"

"Am what?" I furrowed my eyebrows in surprise.

"Proposing."

"To who?"

"You."

"What-"

"Will you marry me?" he finally sighed, realizing that this will not get anywhere.

Like a sack of flour over the head.

I blinked.

He blinked back.

The piece of bacon in my mouth suddenly seemed too large to swallow.

"Funny," I began slowly. "Out of character, though. Try something better."

"I'm not joking."

_Oh fuck._

* * *

"So what now?"

"I don't know," she muttered. She looked lost, like a little girl confronted by something too large for her to comprehend. But her answer still stung.

"What are you going to do?" He ground out.

"I'm leaving for Milan in the morning."

"Is that a no, then?"

She didn't reply, but looked at him with such heartbreaking sadness that he felt something in his stomach drop, land, and explode into shards.

Finally, he muttered, "Fine. Enjoy yourself."


	2. Elizabeth Hessler

**Elizabeth Hessler**

**_Morning in Forli after the attack._  
**

Ezio woke up at sunrise, and his first thought was of surprise- his eyelids definitely looked red from the light, but he also remembered they were still in Forli. And sunlight in Forli was a rarity...

He opened his eyes to see if he was correct, and it was not simply some lunatic waving a torch in his face. It was a sunrise, alright... a very bright and beautiful red one rising over the city walls, which remained just as gray. Fluffy chunks of fog did not even flinch at the light, however, still boldly walking the street...

In front of those open curtains and window, soaking in the light sat Eden, which her eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face. The way the light spilled over her skin and hair and his white undershirt wrapped around her protecting from the slightly cold room seemed almost nostalgic.

"Morning, sunshine" she turned her head to him, and he once again remarked how pleasant it was to start a morning this way, much like they did two years ago. "What do you think? It's about the first time I saw the sun around here."

"Beautiful," he breathed, shifting to sit up. Sadly, the wound in his side refused to let him wallow in the moment, shooting pain through his body. Seems like they managed to break a few stitches after all... "Can you come back here? It seems I'm not very mobile at the moment..."

She let out a soft laugh, "And who's fault is that?"

"All mine- I beg for forgiveness at your feet and plead you to come back to bed. It's cold."

She stared, evaluating him for a long moment, before spreading her lips in a happy grin, and crawled back across the bed to his waiting arms.

After a moment, Ezio remembered something. "Who's Elizabeth Hessler?"

Eden withdrew, raising her eyebrows. "Where did you hear that name?"

"You were talking in your sleep again."

"And of course you went back to your creepy habits of watching me sleep," she playfully poked his forehead. He smiled, nodding in a self-satisfied way. "Alright, it's a dream that I had-"

There was a shy knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Eden asked over her shoulder in displeasure.

The person behind the door murmured something very lowly, and all they could hear, even with their good senses was "Morning...breakfast."

"Oh, then come on it," Eden sat up, glowing happily. The door opened, and the servant slipped inside, carrying a tray of food. Ezio felt a little bad for the man- the plates and cups were jumping in his hands lightly, miraculously staying the right side up, and he generally looked terrified. Not to mention Eden, completely disregarding the fact that she was wearing only Ezio's shirt with only half the buttons properly done and her legs totally bare, took the tray from his hands with almost exaggerated excitement when it almost fell out of his hands. "Food! Lovely!"

Ezio was trying his hardest not to break out laughing as the servant first paled, then flushed tomato red. Though his amusement quickly waned when he realized exactly what little man was staring at.

"That's my wife you're leering at," he reminded him grimly. The servant's face turned purple.

"I'd like to remind you that I'm not your wife yet," Eden threatened him with a tea spoon. "And even then I'll belong only to myself."

"Of course, _mia cara_, but I still don't like it when people stare at you."

The servant let out a slightly strangled "meep" sound. Eden threw him a questioning look, likely wondering why his face was that interesting shade of green.

"There's really nothing holding you," Ezio pressed on, and the man nodded shortly, looking glad as hell to get out of the room. Likely the only reason he stayed was because so far he has not seen a woman who could get dressed completely without help. He was also likely going to show the usual courtesies- asking if there was anything else they wanted and if they needed a maid... Or, that was the likely the intention, though such questions are hard to ask when you're choking on air.

"What's with him?" Eden raised an eyebrow, curiously sampling the contents of the plates.

"Nothing..." Ezio was no longer sure whether he should laugh or point out to her the fact that her behavior, while normal in the twentieth first century, was not received well. Then decided it was a lost cause- if she didn't learn that through all the three years, there was little hope she'd accept it now.

"Anyway, what were we talking about?" She licked her lips thoughtfully after tasting a rather large bit out of the omelet and sending it into her mouth.

"Elizabeth Hessler," Ezio reminded her.

"Oh, yes. She was a lovely young lady in England, from an old and a rather well-known family. She didn't like England very much, and moved around a lot, living the life people only dream off. You know, attending different balls, meeting interesting people, taking walks in beautiful parks, and then sitting by the fireplace in a warm mansion with a good book..."

"And this was a dream?" Ezio raised a skeptical eyebrow, hurrying to pull the tray of food closer to him before she finished everything herself. The "growing girl", as she once jokingly called herself, was quickly working her way through the breakfast in between words.

"I have a theory, but for now, listen," she glared at him. "So once, she met a man. He was charming and handsome, and when he heard her name, he got really excited, handing her a package, and saying that a few months previous to their meeting, his dying father asked him to give it to the woman by her name who's home was everywhere at once."

"That reminds me of something..."

Eden smiled, nodding. "Inside the package was the Talisman." She pointed to the table beside their bed where the artifact was glittering. She took it off... for what reason? Ezio mused. "Anyway, the two liked each other from the start, and soon, they had a daughter. She was an accidental child, but Lizzy still loved her..." A sudden storm cloud passed over her face, though it cleared quickly enough. "But the nobles didn't like the fact that she had an illegitimate daughter and no husband, and some fanatic of either the Church or some other strange mania tried to take the girl away. The necklace told Lizzy what was going to happen, but she was too late, and all she got to see was her daughter being burnt at the stake publicly..."

"And what happened to her them?" Ezio was now listening with interest.

"Her lover offered to take revenge on the narrow-minded nobles and supporters of the church. Stricken with her grief, Lizzy jumped at the offer. They both loved their daughter, and couldn't simply let it go, or even conduct a proper investigation. All they saw were people didn't yet let go of their barbaric methods no matter the amount of jewelery and silks that they displayed, and came to a seemingly obvious conclusion..."

Eden suddenly grew quiet, thoughtfully looking out the window to the raising sun, her eyelashes hanging lowly against the light . "They attended one of the parties in secret and poisoned all the guests. And their children."

"Oh." Ezio was not sure how to respond to that. Eden shook her head as a cloud covered over the sun, and this time a real shadow passed over her face.

"It was a massacre," Eden muttered. "And I mean, worse than what we create on a regular basis. The poison they used produced really ugly effects. The people all but exploded on the inside, dying out for nearly ten minutes while the pair stood over them and enjoyed the show.

But as we both know, Karma is a bitch, so they were both caught and killed before they could leave. The necklace was taken by one of the guards, later given to his daughter as a present, who just so happened to be the heiress of the Talisman, and it continued on it's way..."

They sat in silence for a little bit. Ezio suddenly realized that he while he was listening, he grew completely still, forgetting to eat.

"How do you know this?" he finally asked.

"It's a dream I had- you heard me talking... I think I know why I had those dreams, too..." She put her legs down off the bed, got up and began to make herself presentable, dressing and brushing her hair. "I think that I can't control the artifacts, but I'm still receptive to them, though in a different way than some," she explained as she moved. "I felt the Apple's call no matter what, but I don't think that it can control me now without my knowing it, at the very least, and the Talisman can still communicate with me, but only when I'm completely relaxed and don't instinctively push it away."

"When you're dreaming," Ezio concluded. "It makes sense. So it told you stories of it's previous owners?"

"I think it's hinting that it wants a proper master... But we can't let it have one, so it's getting angry," she shrugged. "I'd really rather not have the questionable pleasure of communicating with artifacts while I'm asleep, there's not telling what it can do then. What if one day I'll wake up with someone's blood on my hands without any actually memory as to what happened? That blood could be anyone's, too- my luck if it's just another guard, but what if it's yours, or Adel's?" she sounded slightly worried.

A grim prospect, Ezio realized after a moment of thought. Eden was strong enough to suffocate him in his sleep, or simply drive a knife through him. Even if he managed to sense the danger from his trusted friend... How to snap her out of it without hurting her?

"So what are we going to do now?" Ezio asked, glancing in the direction of the artifact again with thought.

"Lock it, throw away the key. Or an explosion would be nice. Think Leo can made a big enough one?"

"Spare Italia, please."

"Then we have to find a place for it. Monteriggioni?"

"Too obvious."

"Palazzo della Seta?"

"Locking it away in a thieves den? Brilliant." He muttered sarcastically. She threw him a grin, falling down onto the bed, now fully dressed.

"Well, then, put those two _superior_ braincells of yours to work and pick a place?"

He thought about it for a long time, absently turning to look at her face. She didn't look like she was just possessed by the artifact... actually, she looked healthier than ever. Her pale skin shined in the sunlight coming through the window, and her eyes, looking almost golden, stared at him expectantly, but at the same time warmly, wrapping him in the familiar state of ease.

Warm, familiar... like a home, a place you would come back to. At that moment, anywhere with Eden was his home, but before her...

"Palazzo Auditore." He suddenly grinned. "My father's secret room is still concealed. We can hide it there, or even expand the place."

Her face brightened, "That's a good idea. No one will expect you to return there and hide anything, so they likely won't search the place again. And if they do, we can put traps in."

"Well-"

"Spikes, crossbows, pits of doom...

"Um-"

"-oooh, a flamethrower!"


	3. Of Peasants and Wedding Talk

**A/N- **This was actually supposed to be Chapter 43, but I realized I got extremely sidetracked, not to mention did a little too much of the romantic wibble-wabble and so I cut it out. These happen during the year leading up to the wedding, after the Apple was stolen. Be prepared for a lot of fluff.

**Of Peasants and Wedding Talk**

"...apparently, they developed some sort of movable printing thingy," I finished up, barely even listening to what I was even saying. Routine work, and nothing more... though it was much more pleasant to be occupied with it sitting on the roof and looking up at the stars rather than in a dusty office that was still being cleaned out for Ezio.

"Mhmm," he sleepily confirmed that he didn't forget about me or my report.

"Oh, and Queen Catherine Cornaro sold her land to Venice."

"The queen of Cyprus?" he made sure, and I jerked my chin slightly.

"Actually, she did it almost a year ago, but I only found out now. Oh, about things that happened in the past few years- do you remember that boy, Piero?"

"There's a lot of people by that name..."

"You're just too lazy to remember. We were at his wedding, how can you forget?"

"Oh, Lorenzo's son?"

"Yes. Lorenzo writes that he is unsure that the boy can keep a grip on Florence after his death, and hopes that-"

"Death?" Ezio's eyes snapped open. "Is he intending to die some times soon?"

"I don't know... He might just be paranoid, but considering that those lunatics and the possibility of Savonarola's influence..." I rolled my shoulders. "It wouldn't be the first time someone attempted to assassinate him, and he is only worried of what will happen to Firenze if his number is up."

"Hm." Ezio looked troubled for a moment. "We should visit him in the next month, and discuss it properly. Did anyone else die recently?"

"Why yes, some guy in Russia, I believe and some other guy in Cyprus, again."

"Those events fall onto the Templar expedition almost too close for comfort," he noted, lifting himself up on his elbows and looking into my face. I glanced at him too, and then the endless sea of stars drew my eyes back, refusing to release the spell.

"They might have had something to do with it," I nodded, yawning. It was already around midnight, though the town was still bright, thanks to Leonardo- his oil-lamps could be left across the streets overnight.

The reason we were still up at this point talking about _gossip_ that I got from a passing messenger was Claudia.

Why, you may ask?

Because she was out of her freaking mind.

For months, she would not leave either of us alone about the god damned wedding that I was seriously regretting ever agreeing on. Who knew that there were so many preparations? I was used to assassinations, where the key points were the skill and blade, not the colors of fabric of _curtains_! Ezio was having just as much trouble dealing with his sister, so soon we learned to jump into the nearest haystack or bush any time we felt her approaching. Once, I even dove right into the blacksmith's shop, who was watching the events with amusement, much like the rest of town. The only way to get rid of Claudia was to hide somewhere like the rooftops and towers, where she could not reach...

Which was what we were doing up on the villa roof at that moment, waiting until she finally calmed down for the day and fell asleep. Then perhaps we could actually sneak inside and get a bit of sleep... Technically, I didn't mind sleeping on the roofs, either, but unfortunately it was not a midsummer night, but the middle of March. This winter was particularly cold for some reason, we even saw some snow in Monteriggioni, though Ezio claimed that he has rarely ever seen it this far south.

"You know, stars are fun," I stated tiredly, looking up to the skies, folding my arms behind my head. Ezio hummed in either question or sleep. "They tell stories."

"I've heard that somewhere before..."

"Wake up and sing, Ezio, you haven't heard this one yet," I grinned. "It's about a peasant."

"A strange choice of hero."

"Pfft, that really depends. There's plenty of peasants that become kings... at least, in stories. But this was a special peasant."

"A special peasant?"

"Yes. A special peasant. He had a farm. With cows."

"And chickens?"

"What's a farm without those? Anyway, he loved them cows."

"Really?"

"Yes, they make delicious snacks, haven't you heard?"

"What does that have to do with stars?"

"Nothing aside from the fact that our peasant liked them cows."

"You said that already."

"I can say it again."

"Please don't," he murmured.

"Okay, so the farmer lived peacefully at first. He got himself a wife and she gave him many children. They also liked to eat cows."

"Eden!" he looked at me with amused sternness.

"Alright, alright I won't mention the cows again. Anyway, the farmer lived poorly, but he didn't need anything beyond what he already had."

"Sounds like a happy man."

"He was. At first..." I suddenly sighed. "Then his father died."

"Hm?"

"And left him only one piece of heirloom that he treasured more than his own life. It was the only thing that was worth anything in his entire house, actually, but he never even thought of selling it. And then, they carried on living. Until a knight came around the lands, and stopped at their farm house."

"A knight?" He raised an eyebrow, now listening with interest. I played with my hair, shivering slightly in the cold night air, despite the fact that Ezio's cloak was already around my shoulders.

"Yes, the peasant and his family were surprised, too. The knight stopped, and demanded them to pay up the supposed tribute to the knights of his order. Now, as I already mentioned, the peasant didn't have anything aside from his family and farmland, they were just barely getting by, and he could not pay up this supposed tribute.

The knight was a cold man, a veteran, and the war has completely taken away his sense of honor, mercy or any other weak emotion... he laughed, and asked what the glittering thing around his neck was."

There was a short pause. Then Ezio asked, "The heirloom was a necklace?"

"Yes, didn't I mention that? Now, the peasant was smart enough to lie. He claimed that it was just clutter that he painted gold just to make it look pretty."

"Did the knight believe him?"

I stayed silent for a little bit more, and then shook my head. "He didn't. He forcefully took it away from their family. He didn't sell it like he was planning on, but kept it instead, safely on his neck.

But the peasant couldn't live without it. He felt like a piece of him was ripped out and now wailing to him for help from a distance. So he followed the knight."

"Did he kill him?"

"No." I simply replied. "He failed, and was punished and tortured, and then locked away. They brought his family to him, too, and killed them in front of his eyes..."

"What kind of story is that?" Ezio furrowed his eyebrows. I shrugged.

"A realistic one? Listen further. What the knight didn't know was that the necklace was magical, and it appeared on the broken peasant's neck once again in just a few days... with it's help, he managed to revive one of his youngest sons, who was left to bleed out slowly in front of him. It was too late for his wife and other children, but he entrusted the necklace to the one remaining son, told him how it was possible to get out of the dungeon with the necklace's help, and then asked him to end his suffering and kill him."

"Are you talking about the-"

"Yes, I think so... but the strangest thing is, every time a life to pass on the Talisman, a new star forms. It's been like that since the very first Guardian that found the Piece of Eden and passed it onto a successor. There is a star up there for that peasant that died, and his son... just as one appeared for Tyler Beck, and as one should have lit if Eve died to pass on the artifact... it's as if someone is lighting them up there to honor the sacrifice. Gods, or perhaps the universe is responding to it somehow, or maybe it's just a silly legend that no one ever found out about but those who had the artifact... See, if you look over there..." I squinted into the night's sky, and then pointed up. "That bright one was the Peasant. And there, is the one for Elizabeth Hessler."

Ezio looked up with the stars with reinforced curiosity and interest, and smiled slightly. "I like that story," he suddenly declared. I looked at him sideways with a look questioning his sanity. "I don't know... I think that the realism of it is... enchanting, somehow."

"How so?"

"Well, if you think about it," he sat up with some effort, looking directly into my eyes. "There's balance in almost every aspect of it. A peasant that has nothing but needs nothing... a knight that went through war and became an emotionless and greedy... and even though the man and his family died, he managed to save his son and the artifact... And the Talisman which gave him so much grief was the one to save his son."

"Yes, I suppose you're right..." I nodded thoughtfully. "It's almost ironic. The universe likes irony, don't you find?"

"We're living proof of that," he smirked, laying back down to look at the stars. "You are even more than me."

"Why is that?"

"You name signifies a perfect place... a paradise. But instead, you've been through hell."

I thought about it for a moment, and then nodded with a smile. "You're right. But I hope I make up for it?"

He laughed, and the sound echoed through the sleeping town. "Most definitely, _angelo_..."

After a short pause, I asked, "Do you think Claudia is finally asleep?"

"Yes... Actually, she's been asleep for hours now." I looked at him sharply, witnessing a sly smirk on his lips.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? We could have gone to sleep!"

"We rarely get time together now," he told me seriously. "And when we do, it's all reports, rumors and gossips..."

I closed my mouth against the irritated retort, because he was right. We've been in the villa all through fall, and then winter. All that time has passed in sending out search parties and orders to the surrounding towns, combing them for any trace of Savonarola. Ezio was nose-deep in maps, documents and reports almost at all times. I helped in any way I could, at the same time helping the ladies around town with all their broken furniture and repairs. Their husbands were the dispatched mercenaries, so they didn't get many chances to upkeep a house, and the only decent carpenter in town was currently in San Gimignano on business, so I had plenty to do. So both Ezio and I rarely actually got a moment to relax in the past few months, considering when we finally got to sleeping, we simply fell down onto the bed, and passed out.

We still occasionally put a stop to all this chaos and went out to get some action, but sadly, aside from a rare contract, there was not much in those cities. Firenze was kept in check by Machiavelli and Lorenzo (for all the good that did..), Venice was flourishing with the Assassins there overseeing things, Leonardo reported nothing particularly strange happening in Milano... there remained a few major cities to be scoured through, but most of the happenings there were petty crimes and small, irrelevant conspiracies that drew no attention.

"You really know how to pick a date with a girl, Ezio," I laughed lightly. "On the cold rooftop under the stars, hungry and tired as hell. _Now_ I see how you got all those girls to sleep with you."

He joined in the laughter at the completely ridiculous situation. Then it was cut off by a huge yawn. "Well, alright. Let's go to bed... We still have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

"Why can't we take a break?" I whined. "We've been doing this almost nonstop!"

"Throw your hopes away, you vessel of temptation and sin! The world depends on us!" he proclaimed loudly, and I narrowed my eyes.

"I'll give you temptation and sin, you bastard-" I growled, pouncing on him. We rolled a bit across the roof, and then I pinned him down, digging my elbows into his shoulders and glaring down. He looked at me with a light, pleased and self-satisfied smirk.

"Well, this _is_ very tempting, and most sinful, don't you find?" he raised an eyebrow, and I melted, bending down to place a kiss on his lips, and then pressed my forehead to his, staring him in the eyes.

"I love you," I spoke very lowly and sincerely. I didn't say those words often, because I felt as if they would lose their value. I said it only when I truly felt it, and each time, he'd drop the flirting and arrogant act, and look at me with wide eyes, suddenly appearing to be much younger and less deadly than he truly was.

Ezio just quietly sat up, completely disregarding my weight on him, and caught my lips with his. After a moment, I melted against him, and slowly wrapped my arms around his neck, while his slid over my waist, holding me intimately close.

He, unlike me, always replied to my words with actions that spoke more clearly than his voice could ever.

I think it were those moments that I stopped being terrified of the wedding and began to look forward becoming his wife.

* * *

Not much has happened during March. It finished quickly and the cool weather finally let up, and April and May took the stage, calling the flowers to attention and gave the cue to the birds. Life in the villa eased up a bit as we finished combing through a lot of the Tuscany country side, and allowed the mercenaries to finally relax.

The cannons that Mario ordered were finally installed, and the guard towers were once again occupied, and the torches could be seen up on the walls day and night now. They also put the old wells to use, creating catacombs under the town leading away from it, though we did not advertise the fact, instead hoping we'd have the opportunity to instruct the citizens if the town was ever attacked.

There was still plenty to do, of course, but Claudia, who jumped so eagerly at the temporarily quiet to set the date for the wedding, left us alone. The next real mention of it was one rather warm, sunny day in the beginning of May when I just finished up with another small job.

"Oh, thank you so much!" The woman examined the doors of the wardrobe closely, opening and closing them. They made no sound, the hinges smoothly working as they were supposed to. "I kept trying to get my husband to fix them..."

"Happy to help," I smiled cheerfully. It was true- I was in an amazing mood, and had no problem walking traveling around Monteriggioni helping fix cabinets, nail in shelves and repair furniture.

"You have golden hands, honey, the young master is very lucky to have found you," she complimented me and I laughed.

"Well, it's still a question as to who found whom..."

After a warm goodbye and an enthusiastic offer of first money, and then at least dinner, I walked out onto the street again, wondering what to do next.

I thought first about Ezio, but then remembered that he was still sleeping, and would likely continue with that until evening, as he stayed up for almost two days straight the night before. There was a disturbance only a mile away from Monteriggioni, and he lead it for no other reason than boredom. It turned out to be nothing, just a few hooligans vandalizing and beating around the peasants, and the guards of San Gimignano arrived there just an hour before Ezio, finishing everything quickly. Nonetheless, though, he took the chance to finish up an assassination for Lorenzo in the city, and was now sleeping like a log in our room.

Adel was busy too, as strange as that sounded. Mario, who really liked the girl (though I don't think it was possible not become charmed by the wide blue eyes that she so skillfully used), agreed to train her and put her to use, and was currently teaching her how to ride a horse just outside the town gates. Considering the fact that any of the boys or mercenaries could have done the job, I suspected he simply wanted to spend some time with the girl and assess what she already knew. Winter didn't allow many such chances, and we were all busy for most of it, anyway.

I continued to go through the list of things to do, walking towards the villa and managing not to run into someone in the boiling crowds by miracle. I visited the blacksmith, avoided the excited tailor, and then sat down on the bench in a small shaded garden, absently watching the sparkling water of the fountain. A few birds, quickly accustoming to my presence, came back to finish their baths.

"I don't get it! Look at her- no figure, no beauty... why did he have to pick her?"

My ears perked up, but I did not give away my awareness in any way.

"Gloria, calm down-"

"But this is so unfair! Marrying someone like... like... _her_, when there are girls like us to chose from!"

"Girls like you, you mean?"

"Well, at least!"

"Be careful with what you say. Remember Lars? And Mustavo?"

"They said those were accidents..."

"Only because they're too proud to admit they've been bested by a woman! The whole town knows she messed them up!"

"Maybe he just likes exotic looks."

The girls had a point. My skin was infinitely more pale, despite the light tan that was stopped by my robes, and lighter eyes and hair. It fit into my story of England with only a slight stretch, but in comparison to the native women...

"It's fine. He won't be satisfied with her, anyway, and when he starts looking for something else..."

I tuned it out at that. I didn't even feel anger or irritation at that- I felt secure in my position now, as even as the god damned wedding date grew closer, Ezio showed no signs of cold feet or regret. The poor girls were charmed by him, like so many others. Young, inexperienced, likely bored with the men here, despite the now wide selection... They'd grow out of it, and lose their sweetened illusions soon enough.

I wondered briefly if they truly knew _who_ they were pining after. I was an assassin that could keep up with him and the rest of the Brotherhood. There was no need for him to protect me or find me a burden in any way. Any one of those girls, even if the impossible happened and he fell in love with one of them, it could only end in heartbreak. And if by some miracle I agreed to one of the normal men around Monteriggioni or Florence, it would likely end up the same way. Or we'd just get bored.

I suppose it's almost cheaply romantic. It's like we're made for each other and no one else.

Terrifying thought.

Now, about the wedding...

The wedding.

_The_ wedding.

The _Wedding._

Yeah, I still shuddered at the word. I must be a sight to see when I randomly break out in spasms...

"Let's just elope," I thumped my head onto the desk, sounding desperate even to myself.

Ezio looked tempted for a moment, but then, much to my displeasure, shook his head. "I think Claudia has the right for this. And so does Mario... and Mother. They are my family, Eden."

"I have nothing against your family," I gritted out. "Except I do have a problem with you sister inviting all the people we know to something that is just an official statement. Not to mention I have to wear a wedding dress!"

"_Bella mia_, you can walk down that isle in your Assassin robes, fully armed and covered in blood, and I wouldn't care," Ezio attempted to cheer me up. The image that my mind summoned up_ did_ make me laugh, though...

"And I don't even know anything about weddings! Considering I was too drunk to actually remember anything the first time, all I know is the the bride gets to wear white and there's lots of flowers, but-"

"Not necessarily white, by the by," he noted. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Maybe the ceremony changes in the future, but I doubt it's by much. Though our case isn't exactly normal..."

"In what way?"

"Well, usually the men of both families would get together to discuss and work out all the documents and agreements," he leaned back in his chair, looking up to the ceiling with interest. I looked up too, but didn't find anything but a wet patch from the earlier rain. "But considering my male line was cut out, and your family isn't even born yet..."

"Not to mention there are no documents and no agreements past "I do," I added. "What happens afterward, then? We gather guests in a church like cattle, get the head bu- I mean, priest to read a passage from the Bible, ask us for vows, and then we exchange rings, make out in the middle of the chapel and **BAM!** We're married?"

"...yes." He didn't look like he understood a word I said, but I think he already learned how to catch the gist of my speeches. "And of course, the marriage isn't fulfilled until we... ah, consummate it."

"A tad late on that part, but I'll keep it in mind," I snorted. "So I don't have to wear white?"

"No... I don't think there is anything specific, though you should ask Claudia, she'd know more of this than me." He laughed at my visible shudder.

"Then- urg. I don't know..." Suddenly, I broke out in loud laughter that was only reinforced by Ezio's incredulous look. When I finally calmed down, I explained, stuttering slightly as I tries to push the laughter back. "I'm just- thinking, here we are in the middle of an Assassin-Templar war, and I'm thinking about the colors I could wear to my wedding... Speaking of which, how are the codex pages going?"

"So far, La Volpe pin-pointed two in Firenze, and Sister Teodora another one in Venice. I broke into a bank in San Gimignano and collected another..." he listed off thoughtfully, as he got the scroll from one of his drawers and pushed it towards me.

I opened it curiously, but as I expected, didn't understand even a single word of it. No matter how many times I listened to the jumbled lectures from Leonardo on decoding those documents, I did not yet manage to make the gibberish take up any sort of form. Except for, maybe a few simple words, which I quickly trotted down on a separate page. They did not make the meaning of Altair's writing any clearer...

Leonardo was back in Milan for a few months, so we couldn't simply ask him to decipher them for us. He still had commissions to get to, as Ludovico Sforza still remained his patron. The artist promised to be back in time for the wedding, but that was really not as important as those codex pages...

I thoughtfully looked up to the large map of Italy that Ezio hung up on the wall, transferring the supposed locations from Riario's map to a larger scale with pins. Beside the map there hung no decorations except for the portraits of Uberto, de'Pazzi family and the conspirators, the Barbarigo cousins and Dante Moro... Basically every important Templar target that was on the path of Ezio's revenge.

"What are you thinking?" Ezio wondered after a long silence, staring at me with his fist under his chin.

"You have creepy decorations," I replied truthfully. "Geez, do you really want to see the dead men staring at you all the time?"

He chuckled, throwing a glance around the room. "I don't know why I keep them here. I suppose they are something like trophies."

"Lies." I threw him a grin. "You just like to look at them and once again be reminded of the satisfaction you got when you killed them."

Silence. His smile was gone, and I realized exactly what I just said.

"Ezio-"

He stopped me with the gesture of his hand, his eyes melting. "No, you're right. I suppose there is some satisfaction." He paused for a moment, and then sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Eden, when you say it like that it almost sounds like I'm some sort of simple, common killer who likes to cut off his enemies heads, shrink them, and wear on my belt."

"They would certainly add a bit to your image," I allowed myself the joke. "Stop talking nonsense, Ezio, I'm not judging you. Those people deserved to die just as much as you deserved to be the one to kill them. And if you want to keep moments, hey, let's just be thankful they really aren't shrunken heads- Hey!" I dodged an inkwell, taking cover behind my chair. "I'm just saying... would you stop throwing stuff?"

"You are going to get it," he growled, making a grab for me over the chair. I laughed, rolling out of his reach.

Well, three broken inkwells, two broken chairs, a ripped curtain and five dropped paintings later, we finally calmed down our "scandal", and I stopped laughing long enough for us to somehow end up on the bed and finally use it for it's _other _purpose.


	4. Marcus

**A/N- **Hello world, once again. I have a reason fore writing this one, I swear- I was bored. I finished everything in school for the next two weeks, I'm going through a short art block, and I just finished writing out the end of Irony of Eden, and I won't get a chance to write more until AC Brotherhood comes out. So here's a short drabble from the P.O.V. of Marcus. Who remembers good old Bob? I can't be the only one... But ever wonder what regular thieves though of assassins? Here you go.

**Marcus**

He hated her.

There she was, just waltzing in, like she had authority over them, completely disregarding him and his plans. And the worst part was that everyone flocked over to her as if enchanted, agreeing with everything, allowing a _woman _to tell them what to do. The fact that she managed to get them in and out alive and well, later on using herself as bait just to let them get away did not register in his mind. To him, she was still a horrible person that he hoped to never see again.

His dreams did not come true as he was forced to go on more raids with her lead. She was just as annoyed with his snappy retorts and general lack of obedience, but it was easy to see that she did not care. Once Emilio died, however, they were spared of each others company, thankfully...

She continued to move through the Palazzo della Seta as though she owned it, though perhaps it was simply her confidence that made it appear so. Without realizing it, Marcus watched her whenever she passed by, tensing as if in wait for more of her silly comments. They didn't come- she forgot about him completely.

He learned later that she was an Assassin, like Ser Ezio. He could not understand how that was possible, as he had not seen her make a single kill. All their operations were quiet, and not once did she try to bulldoze through like her partner liked to do. She had such a strange name, too- Eden. It was not an Italian name, though the place from the bible was known well enough. Marcus caught himself thinking that it was ironic that such a witch would bear the name of paradise.

As weeks progressed, his ego recovered from the blow she delivered, and his arrogance returned. It got him caught, and even sent to the gallows. It was a foolish mistake that Antonio would smack the back of his head for, but it was not worth such a capital punishment. It was all because of the corrupted, bribed and at times, plain stupid lawyers, as well as the horrible new Doge- Marco Barbarigo.

It would be a lie to say that the boy was not terrified of death. Perhaps he did not have the best lifestyle, but he enjoyed his life on the streets well enough to decide that he did not want to die at only sixteen years of age. So when the noose was tightened on his neck, he nearly let out a plea, but held the humiliating display, as he knew it would be completely useless. Old Man Odo told him just as much in the short time that they shared a cell. The man was not afraid of death, but even he did not want to die for such unjust reasons.

Cecilio began his speech, addressing the murder of crows that gathered around them, waiting for their death. No one would interfere... of course not. They wanted to live, too...

Marcus was just about to close his eyes and mutter his last prayer, when he saw her again. She weaved through the crowds like a ribbon, heading towards the stage, speeding up as she went. No one saw her approach, and when she cut down the very first guards, no one understood what was happening. But Eden was already up on the stage, delivering the last blow to Cecilio.

She looked over her shoulder at that moment, grinning at the guards, and that smile scared Marcus even worse than the rope. She was baring her teeth in a savage, carnivorous way, her eyes under the hood gleefully mad. He caught sight of her tongue as it darted out to collect the small drops of blood on her chin in an automatic gesture, and she took off the next moment.

The guards chased after her, the crowds dissolved in fright, and his brethren from the Thieves Guild cut their ropes. But Marcus could only think of his new revelation.

She was insane, mad, twisted. Dangerous as a bear, silent as a panther, deadly as poison. That was her true nature- to hunt her prey. To kill. To enjoy the final snap of her victim's neck, to revel in their last breath and look of horror. An Assassin all the way through, no matter how much she tried to conceal it behind a cheerful smile and human morals, or the Creed that the Assassins followed.

He felt disgusted all of a sudden. And not even at the fact that she drank blood in that automatic move, but the fact that that blood was Cecilio's. The little man did not deserve a death by her hand. Too much honor. She was a master, it was plain to see. And masters should not waste their time on lowly jobs when they could be building masterpieces...

The train of thought surprised him. But then he realized that it was true. There was no question in her superiority over him. Or the fact that if he ever went through with his words and tried to teach her a lesson, there is no telling what would have happened. Maybe she would keep to the morals of the Assassins, and let him live with only a few bruises and cuts. Or perhaps she would get lost in the feeling of fresh blood spilling, that she would simply be unable to stop.

Was that what Ser Ezio was like? Marcus doubted it. Then again, he always thought Eden as a barely competent thief, and nothing more, so it was a mystery as to what lay behind the stoic noble man's mask.

He shivered. And decided to never question Assassins again.

They were an entirely different league.


	5. Eden Cleare  14

**A/N- **Some drabbles on Eden's past. They're mostly irrelevant, but I hope you enjoy a short insight into Eden's mind before and after she joined the gang. Far fetched? I don't care :D Maybe more to later. When my head isn't hurting anymore.

* * *

**Gym was the _best._**

"I said run, Cleare!" Coach Mills nearly snarled at me. "Or its detention!"

I glared right back, refusing to be intimidated by the bear of a woman.

Don't get me wrong, I loved running. Dad used to take me to the park just so we could have races, and he was one of the only adults that didn't let me win, but put an actual effort into it. But I hated running when someone forced me to. What was I, a show horse?

"Just do it, Eddie," Kyle nudged me.

_Traitor. _

"Don't call me that."_  
_

I realized that another moment of rebelling, and I would not only be put in detention, but also get a call home. Not that my parents would care- Dad's view on school was almost mocking, and he treated it like it was a waste of my time, but necessary for some reason. And Mom would just roll her eyes, pretend to be serious over the phone, and then laugh about it. Still, I didn't want the teachers thinking they won something.

I finally moved to the line, having successfully wasted ten minutes of class, something everyone would high five me about later. I started with a walk, the grass pleasantly brushing my ankles above my shoes. I sped up gradually, like Dad has taught me, mentally cursing the gym teacher and my friends, and the entire school along with them.

Soon, however, I forgot all about them, having hit my top speed. The air whistled in my ears, pushing the stray strands away from my face. The sides of my vision blurred. My legs moved almost too fast to comprehend, and I knew that if I started thinking about it, I would falter, so I just let the wind clear my mind.

My target, the finish line, where the timers waited for me, was suddenly thrown into sharp focus, as though all of a sudden, my entire world revolved around it. Nothing left. Just forward...

I continued running over the finish, and then I hit on the breaks suddenly, stopping my movement in one second,falling into a crouch facing back to where I started. My friends cheered as the timers shouted the time out to Mills.

Yet I felt strange, almost disappointed. All this running, the focus, the movement- there had to be a finish, as though I have missed out an important part of the chase.

_What chase?_

I straightened out when I realized that there was nothing more, just the stop of the run, and that's it. Now I had to walk along the sidelines back to where I have started. Nothing more.

My blood boiled in anger I suddenly couldn't explain, as though it was yelling at me "_That's it? Finish it!"_

I shook my head, deciding to fake sickness to get out of class. I felt it, anyway...

As I walked back to the teachers and another student started their run, I suddenly got an urge to look behind me. I did, feeling strangely paranoid. But it wasn't in vein, like I thought...

There was a man standing behind the wire fence, wearing dark, clean clothing, his hands deep in his pockets. His face was nothing special- attractive, but normal, with a wiry mustache and short beard on his chin, his hair either dark brown or black. Just a stranger passing by who stopped to look at the school kids gym class.

He was staring right at me.

I suddenly felt self-conscious, but it quickly passed when I realized just _how _he was staring.

The black pit of his eyes was cold and calculating. There was nothing warm or attractive in those, unlike the rest of him.

I hurried away from him, wanting to be beside my friends again. And then I furrowed my eyebrows, glancing back over my shoulder in wonder.

He was gone.

But the distance from me to the fence was way too great for me to be able to determine his eye color.

Yet...

_Just my imagination._

I immediately through the incident out of my head, and forgot about the man with black eyes.

* * *

**Sisters**

"Eden!" Eve whined, hopping on on leg in frustration. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" I innocently asked, hiding her mascara behind my back.

"Steal my makeup from my purse!" She pouted her lips. I rolled my eyes. Only twelve years old, but already wearing purses. It's like begging to have things stolen.

"Because you don't need it," I grabbed a hold of her, hugging her fiercely. "You're so pretty, why do you need make up?"

"No I'm not," she sniffed, not even trying to get out of my grip. "I'm ugly and none of the boys will ever want to kiss me."

"Who told you that?" I asked, my temper rising. _Who dared make fun of my sister? _

"Veronica and Marcy," she sold them out quickly, knowing what happened to those that made her sad. "They said that I'll end up with a toad, because we'll make such a good pair."

"They're just jealous of you!" I told her confidently. "You'll see, you'll be prettier than Mom when you're older!"

She smiled, flattered. "I don't even look like her, though! You're the one that has her eyes, and hair, and skin, and-"

"You're still beautiful though," I cut her off. I knew it, and everyone else knew. "I said you'll be prettier than her, not exactly like her!"

The other girls _were_ likely jealous. Veronica had horrible freckles and red hair that looked more like faded orange, and Marcy's face was one huge pimple, and her hair was limp from being dyed over and over again. Meanwhile, Eve had clean, porcelain and smooth skin, forest green eyes framed by thick black eyelashes and amazing curls that shined with golden highlights in the sun. Boys not only her age but slightly older couldn't stop staring when she walked by.

"Besides what do you want boys kissing you for, anyway?" I asked with an adoring hug. "They're icky and gross-"

"You didn't seem to mind too much yesterday with Danny downstairs..." she suddenly gave me a sly look.

I blushed a deep scarlet. Okay, so let's just say I didn't suffer from the lack of male attention, either...

"Don't tell Dad, okay?" I asked feebly. And she snickered.

"Dad was thinking about dumping freezing water over you two from the stairs above, but Mom talked him out of it. I don't think that would have separated you, though, you looked like you were enjoying it..."

We giggled over it for a while longer, and then I suddenly said, "You know I love you, right?"

She tilted her head to the side. "I love you too, Eden."

"And I'll never let anything happen to you?"

"Are you okay? You're acting weird," she stated bluntly. I slumped slightly, and brought my knees up to my chest.

"I don't know. I just feel like something bad is about to happen, and I just want you to know that I'll protect you no matter what."

"Okay," she nodded, still looking at me curiously. "You're my big sister, you'll always be here for me."

I smiled. "Yeah. Always."

Dad left next day.

* * *

**Repercussions  
**

How strange, I noted.

The world didn't change in the slightest, though I thought it would at least have shot off its orbit.

I killed a man.

No one cared.

I _killed. _A man. A real human man who was breathing at this time yesterday.

And he was no longer breathing.

And no one _cared._

"What did you do, fall down a few flights of stairs and then into an elevator shaft?" Lauren asked jokingly, but with a note of worry in her voice.

I looked at her without smiling. Without any first, she returned my eyes, and then began fidgeting. I tilted my head to the side_, _interested with the new discovery. I continued to look at her seriously, and she finally looked away, lowly muttering a small apology. I didn't listen to it, already distracted by my thoughts.

I tried that again, this time on a random person walking down the hallway. The result was about the same- he looked back in surprise for a moment, and then hurried to escape my eyes.

They were intimidated, I realized.

Throughout the day, I continued to try out this new found power to be able to make people stutter and trip over air. Some even looked scared, hid their eyes.

They were scared of _me._

And I loved the feeling.

They should be afraid of me, I decided. Maybe they didn't know why they should be, there was no way that they could have know of what I did. But they should be intimidated. After all, they were weak. All of them. Even the jocks of the football team, and the barbies of the cheerleader squad that everyone here worshiped. They have never killed anyone. Given a gun, they would run. They would never be able to face anything larger than their petty small worlds...

But I didn't. Larry said I did well, even. As though I was born only for the sole reason to kill. That was why he branded me...

"Hey, you want to come hang at the mall today?" Kyle called me, already gathering the group of friends we usually went out with outside the school doors. I looked up at them, and then over to Jake, who was waiting for me on his bike across the road from the school, a cigarette in his mouth, his arms was going to take me to a place where he would begin my training. I glanced down at the leather jacket that hung over my arm, and then back to my friends.

My ordinary friends that I've talked and laughed with in a time that now seemed years in the past. The normal people that never even seriously considered harming another person. People who I could now force into submission with only my eyes.

Maybe the world didn't care. Maybe the teachers knew nothing of Tyler Beck that died of a bullet wound to the head. Maybe the students didn't realize where my bruises and cuts came from. And maybe nothing changed in any of their lives.

But I was a different person now. And to me, nothing could even be the same.

I didn't grace Kyle with a reply, only threw my new jacket over my shoulders, hiding the tattoo on my shoulder from sight, and headed towards Jake.

"Where are you going?" my former friends' voice reached my ears, and he seemed to have given chase after me. "Who is that? Eddie-"

I spun around, and suddenly towered over my friend, despite the fact that he was taller than me.

"Don't call me that," I said, but in my opinion, not as fiercely as I would have liked.

"But, Eddie-"

"I said don't. Call. Me. **That**!" This time was much better. My growl was close to that of a feral cat, and I gained intense pleasure in watching him stare at me with sudden fear as he shrunk away. Without looking back again, I threw my leg over Jake's bike and fitted my arms around his waist. The man stared at the boy with mocking pity, like an old wolf might stare at a small lap dog that's choking on it's bark.

"Is he forcing you to do something? Ed- Eden, please, let's just go the mall and we'll figure something out-"

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

The sense of power once again overwhelmed me, and I stared at the boy with suddenly twisted smile that bared my teeth, as though something purely primal has awakened in me, and this time, he visibly recoiled. As though he has realized that this was _my _choice, and this was _me, _staring him down. And he realized I was not the same girl that I was a few nights ago.

The string that held my nature in check before has popped. The generations of assassins before me have surfaced, the bloodline I knew nothing of has awakened in my veins after sleeping for so long.

Thudding of three hearts. One fast and nervous, another clam and non-caring, and another, frantic and spiked.

The barely visible flutter of his pulse at his throat. The dilated irises of his eyes like a rabbit faces with a snake, hypnotized and paralyzed by fear. He had gray eyes, I realized for the first time in years. A detail that was suddenly thrown into focus as I held his eyes with mine.

It was as though the entire world has suddenly become brighter, more vivid, more detailed. I could smell the gasoline in the bike, the boy's sweat, the leather of my and Jake's jackets, the blood stains that were hidden on his shirt beneath it...

The sense of complete power over the life of this boy, despite him being a few steps away and me being unarmed. It didn't matter. There was a gun in Jake's belt. I'd tear the boy apart with my bare hands if I had to.

The new sensations felt so absolutely and utterly _wonderful, _that I nearly choked on the feeling bubbling in me, the new bloodlust that has not never been there before made my hands itch to claw at this silly boy's skin, to tear the skin and let the blood flow, make him scream...

As soon as I felt it, though, I suddenly retreated, and the world snapped back to normal. The bloodlust dulled. The need for movement disappeared. The smells, too, and I felt sane again.

Jake kicked the bike into gear, and I realized that only half a second has passed since I smirked. And not everything has returned to the way it was. I still felt that strange new cold confidence. The smells still seemed to be sharper than usual, and the bloodlust didn't go away completely.

I didn't know what has happened to me.

But I only cared for the fact that I was not only not afraid of having to kill again, but I was _looking forward to it._


End file.
